Wildfire smoke to result in hazy skies, moderate air quality levels

The beginning of Meteorological Summer will feel summer-like and then some as sunshine and an organized southwesterly wind will push temperatures above-average this afternoon. 

However, like the past few days, the sunshine we see today will be filtering through the latest plume of thick wildfire smoke from Canada. 

Air quality-wise, no alerts in place, though if you are sensitive to particle pollution, consider reducing your activity level or shorten the amount of time you are active outdoors. Afternoon highs look to climb into the mid to upper 80s. Conditions remain quiet overnight, though a warm wind remains in place, leaving overnight lows in the mid 60s. 

From there, the jet stream will switch to a more active pattern as ridging and high pressure move east. This will allow our next low-pressure system and cold front to move in from the west. 

On one hand, this will relieve us of this thick wildfire smoke and give us a decent chance for much-needed rainfall. On the other, ingredients will be in play for a few strong to severe storms.  

The highest chance during the day will be west of the Mississippi River, with chances increasing locally towards and after sunset. As the cold front approaches, instability is expected to develop allowing for storms to form. 

Again, the biggest uncertainty is how much instability is able to build. If a bit more were to develop, our severe thunderstorm chances may be a bit higher. As it stands now, the Storm Prediction Center has areas west of Rockford, Janesville, and Amboy under a level 2 slight risk which means the nature of our severe storm chances will be scattered. Areas east of that line are under a level 1 Marginal Risk. Conditions will be monitored but as it looks right now, strong winds are the primary concern followed by large hail.A brief tornado cannot be ruled out, though it doesn't help that we have southwest flow in place in the low-levels.

Again, this will provide the Stateline with a chance for much-needed rainfall. If current projections hold, most of the area could wind up with 1"-2". This will be very beneficial considering a good chunk of the Stateline is under a moderate drought. Forecast models show another area of low pressure swinging into central Illinois on Friday, though the best chance for rain looks to be south of I-88. We'll see if any changes occur between now and Friday!